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This graphical abstract depicts the rise of new genes in humans. Image credit: Vakirlis et al., doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111808.

Homo sapiens is Still Evolving, New Study Shows

Dec 21, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists from the Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research at the Biomedical Sciences Research Center ‘Alexander Fleming’ and the Smurfit Institute...

The Eastern Tropical Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus nuuanu). Image credit: NOAA / NMFS / SWFSC.

New Subspecies of Common Bottlenose Dolphin Identified

Dec 19, 2022 by Natali Anderson

The Eastern Tropical Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus nuuanu) prefers the deep waters off southern Baja California, the Pacific coast of...

Thottea beungongtanoeh flower. Image credit: Wendy A. Mustaqim.

Beautiful New Species of Flowering Plant Discovered

Dec 14, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Botanists from the Universitas Samudra have described a new species of the flowering plant genus Thottea from the lowland mixed forests of northern Sumatra,...

Shlosberg et al. present a method to simultaneously absorb carbon dioxide while producing an electrical current with minimal engineering requirements. Image credit: Shlosberg et al., doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c15123.

Researchers Turn Succulent Plant into Living ‘Bio-Solar Cell’

Dec 14, 2022 by News Staff

Harvesting an electrical current from biological photosynthetic systems, such as live cells, is typically achieved by immersion of the system into an electrolyte...

The nibblerid microbial predator Ubysseya fretuma. Image credit: Tikhonenkov et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05511-5.

Meet Provora, New Supergroup of Eukaryotes

Dec 8, 2022 by News Staff

Ten previously undescribed strains of microbial predators isolated from geographically distinct marine habitats — including coral reefs of Curaçao,...

The Hainan rhinoceros snake (Gonyosoma hainanense). Image credit: Mian Hou / Peng et al., doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.085.

Cryptic New Species of Rhinoceros Snake Identified in China

Dec 7, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Scientists have described a new species of the snake genus Gonyosoma from Hainan Island, China. The Hainan rhinoceros snake (Gonyosoma hainanense). Image...

Reconstitution of Spiroplasma swimming in JCVI-syn3B by expressing seven genes. Image credit: Kiyama et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo7490.

Japanese Scientists Create ‘Smallest Mobile Lifeform’

Dec 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the Osaka City University, the Osaka Metropolitan University and the Bioproduction Research Institute have created a swimming synthetic...

Galeus arae, a member of the genus Galeus and a relative of the newly-discovered species Galeus friedrichi. Image credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer.

New Species of Sawtail Catshark Discovered in Philippines

Nov 29, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Named Galeus friedrichi, the new species is the third species of the catshark genus Galeus — after Galeus sauteri and Galeus schultzi — documented...

The dinosauroid by Dale Russell and Ron Séguin. Image credit: Canadian Museum of Nature / Darren Naish & Will Tattersdill, doi: 10.1139/cjes-2020-0172.

What If Non-Avian Dinosaurs Hadn’t Gone Extinct?

Nov 28, 2022 by The Conversation

About 66 million years ago, a 10-km-wide asteroid crashed into Earth near the site of the small town of Chicxulub in what is now Mexico. The impact unleashed...

This phylogenetic tree includes 301 species (ca. 92% species) from all currently recognized genera of the family Muscicapidae. Image credit: Zhao et al., doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107646.

Ornithologists Unveil Family Tree of Old World Flycatchers, Robins and Chats

Nov 28, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Muscicapidae — the chats, robins and Old World flycatchers — is a diverse songbird family with over 300 species. This phylogenetic tree includes...

Great bustards (Otis tarda) near Madrid, Spain. Image credit: Jacinta Lluch Valero / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Great Bustards Use Two Plant Species to Self-Medicate, Scientists Say

Nov 23, 2022 by News Staff

The great bustard (Otis tarda), the largest member of the bustard family Otididae and the only member of the genus Otis, is believed to be the heaviest...

The black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis). Image credit: Doka Nason / American Bird Conservancy.

Ornithologists Capture First-Ever Photos, Video of Long-Lost Ground-Dwelling Pigeon

Nov 21, 2022 by News Staff

The black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis), a large terrestrial pigeon species from an island off Papua New Guinea, had been lost to science...

Lophopetalum tanahgambut and its knee roots system. Image credit: Randi et al., doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.573.1.7.

New Giant Tree Species Discovered in Indonesia

Nov 21, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Lophopetalum tanahgambut is a large top canopy tree growing to 40 m tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height (dbh) of up to 1.05 m. Lophopetalum tanahgambut...

Transparent and iridescent appearance of Jeongeupia sacculi HS-3’s colonies; the edge of a colony growing on agar. Image credit: Mizuno et al., doi: 10.7554/eLife.71920.

Newly-Discovered Bacterium Species Has Unique Multicellular Characteristics

Nov 17, 2022 by News Staff

Biologists have isolated a new type of multicellular bacterium, named Jeongeupia sacculi HS-3, from an underground stream in northern Kyushu Island, Japan....

Bee longevity, like any phenotypic expression, is the result of both environmental exposure and the bees’ genome. Image credit: Martin Tajmr.

Study: Caged Honeybees are Living Half as Long as Observed 50 Years Ago

Nov 14, 2022 by News Staff

In a new study published today in the journal Scientific Reports, a duo of researchers at the University of Maryland found that the median lifespan of...

Eufriesea insularis, female holotype. Image credit: Ayala et al., doi: 10.3897/jhr.92.87197.

New Species of Orchid Bee Discovered

Nov 14, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Entomologists have described a new species of the neotropical orchid bee genus Eufriesea from the Islas Marías of Nayarit State, México in the Pacific. Eufriesea...

A gloomy octopus (Octopus tetricus) projects silt and kelp through the water. Image credit: Godfrey-Smith et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276482.

Octopuses Witnessed Throwing Silt, Shells and Algae around Themselves and at Each Other

Nov 10, 2022 by News Staff

Wild gloomy octopuses (Octopus tetricus), a medium-sized benthic octopus species common in temperate waters around Australia and New Zealand, frequently...

Macrobiotus naginae. Scale bar - 100 μm. Image credit: Daniel Stec.

New Species of Sand Dune-Dwelling Tardigrade Discovered in Finland

Nov 10, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Scientists have described a new species of the Macrobiotus pseudohufelandi complex from sand dunes of inland Finland. Macrobiotus naginae. Scale bar –...

Cymatioa cooki. Image credit: P. Valentich-Scott & J.H.R. Goddard, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1128.95139.

Fossil Clam Species Found Living Off Southern California

Nov 8, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Cymatioa cooki, a species of small bivalve mollusk previously only known from the Pleistocene period, has been found living intertidally near Santa Barbara,...